Four gunmen armed with machine guns and hand grenades killed at least 12 people at a popular tourist report in Ivory Coast.

The heavily armed, balaclava clad shooters opened fired on guests at the L'Etoile du Sud [Southern Star] hotel which was full of expats, a witness said.

The country's Government said six armed men have been 'neutralised' following attacks on three different hotels.

Terror group Al Qaeda in the Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the attack through one of their social media accounts, but this has not been independently verified.

Graphic images showed seven dead bodies scattered across the beach in the resort town of Grand Bassam, around 25 miles from the capital Abidjan.

And footage from a hotel balcony showed people running from their lives as the shooters tried to gun down unarmed holidaymakers.

Several French nationals may have been killed in the deadly attack, with witnesses describing how the gunmen arrived on the beach via a boat.

Josiane Sekongo, 25, who lives across from one of the town's many beachfront hotels, described the shocking moment the attack took place.

She ran outside after hearing gun fire and saw people sprinting away from the beach to hide in their homes, moments before the security forces arrived.

'I saw seven dead that I filmed. There were four attackers. I was swimming when it started and I ran away,' said Dramane Kima a local who filmed the bodies on Bassam's shore.

He also took photos of grenades and ammunition thought to have been left behind by the attackers.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said officials were 'urgently' trying to establish whether any British nationals were harmed at the resort, a popular site for expats.

Today's attack was the third time in recent months that a West African tourist hotspot has been besieged by gunmen.

Dozens were killed during a siege of a Malian hotel in November, followed by an assault on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso in January.

Analysts have warned for months that Ivory Coast, which shares a border with both those countries, could be a potential target by jihadists as well.

'I have always said that Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Dakar (Senegal) are the next targets for jihadist groups because these two countries represent windows of France in Africa,' said terrorism expert Lemine Ould Salem.

He said the attackers could be from the ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram terror group that has killed thousands across Africa over several years.

An Israeli man was critically wounded when two Palestinian terrorists opened fire from a vehicle on Wednesday morning at a light rail stop near the New Gate of Jerusalem's Old City, police said.

The two occupants of the vehicle were shot dead by officers at the scene on Rehov Hatzanhanim.

Police said the shooters were likely the same men who had carried out a failed attack at a Jerusalem public bus elsewhere in Jerusalem earlier in the morning.

They had opened fire on a number 32 Egged bus at the Ramot Junction in the city's northwest. There were no injuries in the earlier shooting attack, and police launched a search for the vehicle that was seen driving away from the location.

Officers identified the vehicle near the Old City, police said. One officer approached the car, and when he was within five meters of it, spotted its occupants aiming two Carl Gustav rifles at him, police said. He and other officers opened fire at the gunmen and killed them.

An Israeli was also hit in the crossfire and seriously injured.

"At the scene of the battle with the terrorists, there was an Arab Israeli citizen who was suffering from a gunshot wound," an Israel Police spokesperson said, noting that police were examining whether he was hit by an errant bullet fired by officers or was hit by the Palestinian gunmen.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the victim suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body. He was taken to the Hadassah Hospital in the nearby Mount Scopus neighborhood for treatment.

"We came upon a man who was semiconscious, with a deep wound to his upper body," MDA paramedic Muhammad Abed al-Rahman said. "We administered life-saving treatment to him and quickly took him away while keeping him sedated and on respiration. He is in serious condition."

The attacks came the day after a particularly bloody day of violence in Israel.

An American tourist, Taylor Force from Lubbock, Texas, was killed and 12 people were injured in three terror attacks Tuesday, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

In all, twenty-nine Israelis and four foreign nationals have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. Some 180 Palestinians have also been killed, around two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.

Two Border Police officers are in critical and serious condition after being shot in the head by an Arab terrorist outside the Old City's Nablus Gate in east Jerusalem early Tuesday evening. Following a brief chase, the terrorist was shot dead at the scene.

Shortly after 5 p.m., police said the unidentified male assailant fired a Carl Gustav improvised semi-automatic gun at the officers while they were patrolling the well-travelled Slah Ad-Din Road, just outside the Old City walls, approximately 300 meters from Damascus Gate.

"Shots were fired on officers who were on a regular patrol in and around the area, and as a result we have two officers down who were seriously injured," said Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld at the scene of the attack.

"All of our police units responded in the area, and the terrorist was spotted with an improvised automatic weapon, chased, and shot and killed at the scene."

Both officers were treated at the scene by United Hatzalah of Israel paramedics before being rushed to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem, he said.

"Our bomb disposal experts are continuing to search for explosives in the area, and our forensics team is present to collect evidence," Rosenfeld added.

As hundreds of curious Palestinians passively watched the chaotic scene unfold in the Arab neighborhood, dozens of heavily armed officers cordoned-off the area and searched for other possible suspects.

"At this moment in time we're continuing security measures for the [US Vice President Joseph] Biden visit, which is beginning this evening here in Jerusalem, and heightened security continues as long as necessary," Rosenfeld said.

United Hatzalah volunteer Daniel Katzenstein said his command center received a call about the shooting at 5:10 p.m. on Slah Ad-Din Road.

"It was originally not clear how many victims were injured," he said. "We immediately dispatched our ambu-cycle unit, which raced to the scene, and our first responders reported active gunfire when they arrived, which continued for some time."

Katzenstein said that despite the gun fire, the paramedics were able to access and treat one of the victims, who remained conscious after being shot in the head.

"We treated him until police secured the entire area, and then went with police to treat the second victim, who was more seriously injured and required CPR after losing consciousness and deteriorating at the scene," he said.

At 7:30 p.m., Hadassah University Medical Center spokeswoman Hadar Elboim said that one of the officer's, who is 48 years old, remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

"He's in very bad condition and his life is at risk," said Elboim.

The other officer, who is 31, remains conscious and is in moderate-to-serious condition, she said.

"Both their families are with them," Elboim added.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, a knife-wielding Arab woman in her 50s was shot dead in Jerusalem after attempting to stab a Border Police officer in the Old City's well-travelled Haguy Street.

At approximately 10 a.m., police said the unidentified woman from east Jerusalem approached a group of officers carrying out security measures in the area, which have been considerably heightened for US Vice President Joe Biden's visit.

"She pulled a knife from her bag and tried to stab one of the officers, who acted immediately and responsibly upon realizing his life was in immediate danger and shot and killed the woman," said Rosenfeld.

"She was pronounced dead at the scene, the knife was seized as evidence, and the area was immediately cordoned-off."

None of the officers were wounded, he said, and a coroner arrived minutes later to collect the corpse.

Rosenfeld said an investigation has been launched to determine who the woman is, and if she acted alone or is part of a terror cell.

In the meantime, he said security measures have been implemented throughout the capital for Biden's visit, with an emphasis on the downtown area and Old City.

"Several hundred officers are involved in security operations to ensure safety over the next two days during his visit," Rosenfeld said.

"Police are continuing security patrols to provide an immediate response to terrorist attacks," he added.

Most terrorist activity in the Old City and capital has been concentrated outside east Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, where several deadly attacks have been carried out and thwarted since the terror wave engulfed Jerusalem last October.

The flashpoint area outside Damascus Gate continues to be densely patrolled around the clock by security personnel.

An Israeli man who was stabbed multiple times Tuesday afternoon in a terror attack in Petah Tikva managed to remove the knife from his neck and use it to stab and neutralize his attacker, aided by the store owner, police said.

The attacker, a Palestinian, died a few minutes later, police said. The victim, an ultra-Orthodox man of about 40 who suffered multiple stab wounds to his upper body, was hospitalized in moderate condition. The store owner was not injured.

The Palestinian assailant had followed the man, who was collecting money for charity, into a wine shop on the central city's Baron Hirsch Street and began stabbing him "multiple times" in the upper body in a "frenzied attack," police said.

At one point, the victim managed to break away and fled the store, while the owner of the store hit the attacker and tried to subdue him, police said. The victim then returned to the store, pulled the knife out of his own neck, and stabbed his attacker.

Initial reports had said the stabbing may have occurred during an altercation; however, the incident was later confirmed by police as a terror attack.

Magen David Adom paramedics said they treated the victim at the scene before taking him to the city's Beilinson Hospital.

Nati Ostri, a volunteer medic from United Hatzalah who also treated the victim, said he found the man lying on the floor outside a convenience store.

"Together with other volunteers of the Ambucycle Unit of United Hatzalah we treated the victim utilizing first aid treatment, following which he was taken to Beilinson Hospital in an ambulance. At the time of transfer the victim was conscious," he said.